Commercial broiler



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Filed Sept. 25, 1963 m mm W T N! M/ wmfi w mm? 5 m V, L ay B 5 a United States Patent 3,238,863 CQMMERCKAL BRQTLER Failas V. Beasley, East Dundee, and William J. Quinn, 31:, Dundee, llllL, assignors to McGraw-Edison Company, Milwaukee, Win, a corporation of Delaware l iied Sept. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 310,694 3 Claims. (Cl. 99-446) This invention relates to broilers, and more particularly to an improved commercial broiler.

Heretofore, electric commercial broilers have not been fully competitive with broilers using competing f-uels because of an inability to achieve quick pre-heating and failing to sufliciently concentrate heat within the broiling zone to sear and broil with sufficient speed to produce the most desirable broiled meats. The applicants device concentrates heat in the broiling zone by utilizing insulated adjoining wall portions, high output electric elements and reflective heat concentration to provide an electric broiler unit fully as effective as any competing device. The structure of this broiler also provides for removal of drippings from the broiling zone and isolation of such collected drippings from the high broiling temperatures.

Further, in properly broiling it is desirable to be able to vary the distance between the food being processed and the heat source. In the past it has been common to afford adjustment of the broiler grate toward or away from the heat source or occasionally to utilize a pivoted heating element. The applicant has provided a broiler with a readily vertically adjustable heating element assembly that may be varied by an adjusting mechanism requiring a minimal force.

It is an object of this invention to provide a high capacity electric broiler providing the high heat concentration necessary to proper broiling.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a broiler of high heat input that is protected from accidental ignition of drippings from the food being broiled by affording isolation of the stored drippings.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an electric broiler wherein the distance between the heating element and the broiler rack may be manually varied with minimum of effort irrespective of the load carried by the broiler rack.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a broiler incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the broiler of FIG. 1 with portions of the outer case and the support members broken away;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the heating element assembly, element lift arm assembly, counterweight, grid and lower reflector with portions broken away; and

FIG. 5 is a partial section taken along line 55 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIGURES 2 and 3 thereof, the broiler unit assembly 18 is supported within a cabinet 11 having a pair of side walls 13, a rear wall 16 and a top wall 17 each formed with an "ice inner sheet metal liner 19 and an outer sheet metal liner 20 and including in the space therebetween an effective insulating material 21 such as for example a 2 /2 inch thickness of rock wool. The inner and outer liners are spaced and supported by various channels and angles which are welded or bolted thereto. These supporting elements being of conventional design are not further described and are only partially shown inasmuch as the specific structure thereof forms no part of the present invention. A sheet of metal 29 extends between and is connected to the cabinet side walls 13 and another metal sheet 29a extends transversely between and is connected to the flanges 23, whereby sheets 29 and 29a form the cabinet bottom wall. A transversely extending vent opening 24 extends through a rearward portion of the top wall 17 and communicates with an upwardly extending stack 18 leading therefrom which has at the upper outlet end thereof a forwardly inclined deflector 26.

The broiler unit Ill is slidably received within the cabinet 11 by insertion through the front opening defined by the cabinet side walls 13 and top wall 17 above the flange surfaces 22. The broiler unit is supported within the cabinet on the flanges 23 and is restrained against movement forwardly out of the cabinet by the vertical trim plates 25 (FIG. 1) which are secured to the cabinet 11 by means not shown.

A pair of front corner posts 27 and a pair of rear corner posts 28 provide the vertically extending supporting structure for the broiler unit. The broiler unit 10 is positioned with respect to each of the cabinet side walls 13 by an upper spacer angle 30 and a lower spacer angle 31 which extend horizontally along each side of the broiler unit from the front corner post 27 to the rear corner post 28. The broiler unit 10 is positioned with respect to the cabinet rear wall inner liner 33 by a pair of vertically extending channels 34 with inwardly extending flanges. The forward flange 35 is attached to the rear corner post 28 and the rearward flange 36 engages the inner sheet of the cabinet rear wall 16.

As seen in FIG. 4 a pair of square tubular side members 38 are rigidly connected to a pair of transverse tubular members 39 to form a frame for a heating element assembly 4i). Transversely extending between the side members are a series of metal sheathed heating elements 42 with terminal portions at their ends disposed within the side members 38. The vertical height of the element assembly is adjusted by means of a lift arm assembly 44 including a transverse rod 45 pivotally secured to the rear corner posts 28 by rod clamps 46. Welded to the ends of the rod 45 are a pair of rectangular tube lift arms 48. The lift arm assembly 44 is connected to the side members by a pair of tubular elements respectively welded to the lift arms 48 with each of the tubular elements 50 having annular groove 51 which receives the semi-circular edge 52 of the adjoining side member 38 therein to provide the supporting pivotable engagement therebetween which engagement is maintained by the plates 53 bolted to the lower surface of the element frame side members 38. The lift arms 48 and tubular members 50 provide a passageway between openings 54 at the rear of the lift arms 48 just forward of the rod 45 and the side members which house the conductors (FIG. 2) connected to the heating elements. The interconnection between the lift arm assembly 44 and the heating element assembly 40 functions to retain the element assembly with respect to horizontal movement. A lift arm extension 58 is welded at one end to the lift arm 48 and at the other end to a rod 59 with the latter rod extending through the trim plate 25 and terminating with a handle portion 60 (FIG. 1) to provide a manual control for raising and lowering the element assembly 40. A counterweight 62 is disposed at the rear of the broiler unit with transverse vertical edges 63 disposed between the rear flanges 36 of the channels 34, as seen in FIG. 5, and the inwardly extending flange 64 of the angle 63. This counterweight 62 is connected to the side members 38 of the assembly 40 by a series of cables 65 and has a weight or mass substantially equivalent to the effective downward force exerted by the element assembly 44] and the auxiliary parts connected thereto so that the element assembly 4-0 is maintained at any predetermined vertical position by friction between the movable elements but may be moved either up or down by a minimum of force applied to the knob or handle portion 60.

As shown in FIG. 2 the cables 65 supporting the counterweight and element frame assembly are supported in the broiler unit by forward pulleys 67 carried by pins 68 extending between the upper spacer angle 30 and bracket 69, a pair of pulleys 71 each carried by a pin 72 extending between the rear corner post 28 and the adjoining upper spacer angle 30 and four pulleys 73, two mounted on each two pins 74 carried by U-shaped brackets 75 each of which is respectively secured to one of the rear corner posts 23.

As seen in FIG. 3 a broiler grid 77 is supported on a roll-out drawer assembly 78. The drawer assembly 78 is supported at each side by the outwardly turned flange 79 that bears upon the roller 80, pivotally mounted on front corner post 27 and a roller 81 supported on the exterior surface of the drawer adjacent to the rear thereof and disposed within the U-shaped channel 83 supported adjacent the drawer side respectively by the front corner post 27 and rear corner post 28. Below the grid is a reflector tube assembly 85 having a series of highly polished heat reflecting tubes 86 formed of aluminized steel and resting in semicircular depressions 87 provided in a pair of cross members 88 supported within a surrounding frame 89. These tubes 86 provide reflective surfaces and further concentrate the heat within the broiling zone 90. A clearance provided between each pair of adjoining tubes 86 affords communication with a drip receptacle 92 disposed below such reflector tubes 86 to collect drippings that pass between the tubes. The channels 93 which support the deflector tube assembly 85 have downwardly turned marginal flange portions 94 that deflect drippings into the grease pans 92 carried by the drawer assembly 78 with a center deflector 95 also provided to direct drippings to the pans. The heating element side members 38 each carry an upper splash guard 96 and a lower splash guard 97 and a downwardly and inwardly inclined deflector 98 underlying the lower splash guard is secured to the lower spacer angle 31. A slide-out reflector 99 having a highly polished lower surface facing the broiling zone 90 is supported by flanges 100 in overlying relation to the heating element assembly 49 to reflect downwardly and further concentrate the heat generated by the elements in the broiling zone 90. A radiation shield 101 extends between the rear corner posts with a rearwardly turned upper terminal portion 102. The broiling zone is in communication with the vent opening 24 at the top of the cabinet 11, through the opening between the rear corner posts 28 and above the radiation shield 101. The control area 103 below the drawer assembly 73 also communicates with the vertical vent 24 through an opening at the rear wall of the broiler unit.

In operation the broiler is turned on and a selected input to the elements 42 chosen by control devices which are not shown and do not comprise a portion of the present invention. After a short preheat period the food to be broiled, principally steak or other meat items, is placed on the grid 77 supported on the roll-out drawer assembly 78, and the drawer and grid are rolled into the broiler unit It). The heating element assembly 4d may be raised or lowered selectively by the operator moving the knob 69, including lowering the elements 42, to contact and brand the food. The heat is concentrated within the broiling zone by limiting heat loss through the substantial insulation in the cabinet side, top and rear walls and by the cooperating reflective heat confining action of the highly polished surface of reflector panel 99 that defines the upper limit of the broiling zone and the polished tubular elements 86 that underlie the grid 77. During broiling, the drippings freely pass over and between the polished tubular elements 86, which serve both to reflect heat back into the broiling zone 96 and thermally isolate the drip pans 92 from the broiling zone. The drippings so retained in the drip pans underlying the tubular elements being thereby sufficiently remote or isolated from the broiling zone to avoid attaining a temperature sufficiently high to attain conditions of flash or ignition.

Although but one embodiment has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

It. A broiler comprising a cabinet having a top wall, a rear wall and a pair of horizontally spaced sidewalls comprising an enclosure presenting a front opening, said walls having inner and outer sheet metal surface portions and a layer of thermal insulating material therebetween; a broiler unit assembly slidably received in said cabinet through said front opening; releasable securing means preventing withdrawal of said assembly from said cabinet, said broiler unit assembly including a horizontally disposed article supporting grid, a horizontal electrical resistance heating element assembly vertically movable in parallel relation to said grid, at counterweight operatively connected to said heating element assembly having a Weight substantially equivalent to said heating element assembly, first and second reflector means carried by said broiler unit assembly, said first reflector means overlying said heating element assembly with a downwardly facing heat reflecting surface and said second reflector means comprising a series a parallel horizontally spaced tubular members closely underlying said grid and presenting heat reflective surfaces, a drip receptacle underlying said second reflector means, said grid, drip receptacle and second reflector means being mounted for unitary horizontal sliding movement with respect to said enclosure, and a manually operable lever a portion of which is tubular and pivotally connected to said heating element assembly by a tubular pivot element, said tubular portion and tubular pivot comprising conduit means for conductors conveying current to said heating element assembly.

2. A broiler comprising wall portions defining an en closure having a front opening; a horizontally disposed article supporting grid within said enclosure; a horizontally disposed electrical heating element assembly selectively vertically movable in parallel relation to said grid; counterweight means connected to said heating element assembly and of substantially the same Weight as said heating element assembly; a tubular member pivotally mounted within said enclosure about a stationary axis; a tubular pivot element connected to said tubular member and said element assembly to permit pivotal movement of said tubular member with respect to said element assembly about the axis of said tubular pivot element, said tubular member and said tubular pivot element providing a continuous conduit to said electrical heating element assembly; an electrical conductor means entering said tubular member adjacent said stationary axis and extending through said tubular member and tubular pivot element 5 to said electrical heating element assembly, whereby a minimum flexing of said conductor means occurs when said heating element assembly is raised'land lowered.

3. The broiler of claim 2 further corr'iprising a manually actuable handle connected as an integral part of said tubular member with an operating portion projecting to the exterior of said enclosure for manually raising and lowering said heating element assembly.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 24,296 3/ 1957 Stewart.

696,040 3/ 1902 Haslam. 1,101,774 6/1914 Altenbrand 12641 6 Schey. Coleman Wheeler. OBrien et al 174-86 X Savio 99446 X Nevin 99-447 Lennox 99-446 FOREIGN PATENTS 536,234 11/1955 Italy.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

JEROME SCHNALL, Examiner. 

2. A BROILER COMPRISING WALL PORTIONS DEFINING AN ENCLOSURE HAVING A FRONT OPENING; A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ARTICLE SUPPORTING GRID WITHIN SAID ENCLOSURE; A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENT ASSEMBLY SELECTIVELY VERTICALLY MOVABLE IN PARALLEL RELATION TO SAID GRID; COUNTERWEIGHT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID HEATING ELEMENT ASSEMBLY AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME WEIGHT AS SAID HEATING ELEMENT ASSEMBLY; A TUBULAR MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID ENCLOSURE ABOUT A STATIONARY AXIS; A TUBULAR PIVOT ELEMENT CONNECTED TO SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND SAID ELEMENT ASSEMBLY TO PERMIT PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID TUBULAR MEMBER WITH RESPECT TO SAID ELEMENT ASSEMBLY ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID TUBULAR PIVOT ELEMENT, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER AND SAID TUBULAR PIVOT ELEMENT PROVIDING A CONTINUOUS CONDUIT TO SAID ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENT 